Rescuers in Nepal have pulled two individuals alive from debris 10 days after devastating floods struck the country, as search operations persist for thousands reported missing.
On Saturday, a Chinese man was rescued from a hydropower tunnel. The man was the third worker found alive from the Trishuli hydropower project, following the rescue of two Nepalese workers on Friday. Nepal's army confirmed that a joint team of Nepalese military personnel and South Korean disaster experts extracted the man from a 225-meter tunnel. He is currently undergoing a health assessment. Images showed him being evacuated by helicopter, with an army medic attending to him during the flight.
In a separate incident in the flood-hit town of Nuwakot, a woman was rescued alive from a damaged house. Nepal's army spokesperson stated she was being airlifted to Kathmandu for medical treatment. Photos released by the army depicted rescuers finding the woman covered in mud inside the structure before bringing her to safety, wrapped in a blanket.
Authorities have increasingly concentrated rescue efforts on 12 hydropower projects across Nepal, where approximately 900 workers are unaccounted for, with an estimated 500 believed to be trapped within various tunnels. Specialized rescue teams from India, China, South Korea, and the United States are examining debris, damaged structures, and tunnels at these projects in hopes of finding survivors.
The floods, which occurred on August 26 and are believed to have been triggered by a glacier collapse, have resulted in at least 1,300 fatalities, according to Nepal’s disaster management agency. More than 5,000 people remain missing.